Conduit hanger



S p 1951 E. B. ATKINSON 2,567,463

CONDUIT HANGER Filed July 15, 1948 4 amlilli 1N VEN TORn 1 5mm 15.flay/r5027,

Patented Sept. 11, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 'CONDUIT HANGER EarlB. Atkinson, Bay Village, Ohio Application July 15, 1948, Serial No.38,846

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for supporting pipes or other likeconduits overhead or on walls, and its objects include simplicity,cheapness of manufacture, convenience of installation for attachment tosupports, and facility of attaching the pipe or conduit thereto, whilebeing capable of supporting one or more conduits in parallel relationand of varying sizes.

A more specific object is to provide a rigid supporting member and aplurality of sizes of U-shaped supporting bolts having a relationship toaligned elongated openings in the support, such that pipes ranging insize, say, from a quarter or half an inch up to two inches may beconveniently attached to the same support.

Heretofore, special supporting bars or attaching devices were needed foreach size of pipe or the supports have been drilled for the particularrequirements on the job or at the point of installation.

By the present invention I have provided a special supporting bar and acombination of a minimum of selected U-bolts, all of which may havetheir two ends enter the elongated openings which are so spaced as torequire no special drilling.

I have also provided a special and convenient means for carrying thesupporting bar on structural beam members, such as angle irons, channel,I-beams, etc.

The means for attaining the above and other objects will become apparentin the following description which relates to the accompanying drawings,in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my conduit hanger attached to the flangeof an overhead I-beam;

Fig. 2 is a plan of the supporting member proper;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the same;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation showing the supporting member and U-boltssupporting difierent sizes of pipes;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing a modified form of a meansfor attaching the support to a concrete ceiling or wall.

Describing the conduit hanger arrangement of the present invention, asillustrated in the drawings by the use of reference numerals, thesupporting member comprises a channel having a web I and side flanges,indicated at 2.

Midway between the channel members are elongated openings 5 having theirsides in substantially longitudinal alignment and parallel with thesides of the channel.

The material of the web between the adjacent ends of the elongatedopenings 5, indicated at 5, preferably has a length related to thelength of the elongated openings such that the different sizes ofU-shaped carrying bolts will all fit into either two adjacent openings 5or into alternate openings 5, as will presently appear.

Referring first to the smallest U-bolt, indi cated at H), shown in Fig.4 as supporting a small conduit l2, the adjacent openings 5 are closeenough together, that is, the intervening portion 6 is short enough topermit the ends of the U-bolt to enter adjacent openings. This size ofU-bolt may fit a one-half inch pipe, for example. I In practice, theconduit lies against the edges of the flanges 2, and the threaded ends Mof the U-bolt projecting above or to the opposite side of the web I ofthe channel receive nuts as at I5 to clamp the conduit securely in theposition shown. 7 r

The next size U-bolt 20 may fit around and support a larger conduit,say, for example, a three-quarter inch pipe, and the spacing of the legsof this U-bolt is such that when one leg is near one end of an opening5, the other leg of the U-bolt may extend through the adjacent elongatedopenings 5 at about the middle of it. Here again, nuts as shown at 25mayfefi'ect-the clamping and holding of the conduit against the flanges2, when the nuts are tightened against the back or inner side of the webI.

For a slightly larger size of pipe, a similar U -bolt may have its legportions fit closely toward the remote or farthest separated ends of twoadjacent openings 5.

For still larger conduit, an appropriate size U-bolt 30 fitting theconduit indicated at 32 may have its legs enter two of the elongatedopenings while bridging over an intermediate opening.

Here again, the conduit is secured by nuts 35 fitting the threaded endsof the U-bolt. This arrangement in which the U-bolt engages alternateopenings 5 is indicated in broken lines in Fig. 4 and in solid lines inFig. 5.

For a size pipe or conduit slightly smaller than the conduit 32, asshown, a U-bolt fitting such a conduit may have its ends passed throughthe nearest portions of alternate openings 5. Thus, it will be seen thatby the unique arrangement of elongated openings the U-bolts,appropriately shaped to fit standard conduits varying in sizes byquarter or half inches, may all be secured either in adjacent oralternate openings in the main supporting channel member I.'

The channel members, as indicated, may be secured to overheadconstruction members, floor beams, ceiling surfaces, etc, by variousappropriate means.

In Fig. 1 I have shown an effective special arrangement for securing thesupporting channels to flanges of I-beams, angles, or the like, as mayoccur in the floor construction or side wall supports.

In this figure are shown two C-clamps, designated 40 and each havingclamping screws 42 shown as engaging the inner orupper sides of theflange F of a structural member S. The bodies of the C-clamps are ofsubstantial thick ness and strength, and into the outer or, lower sidesof the lower reach 43 of each C-clamp I may thread a cap screw or bolt45, each passing through one of the elongated openings 5, thus securelymounting the supporting channel.

While in Fig. 1 the C-clamps are shownas securing the supporting channelI in a position parallel .with the structural member S, obviously 'fthe,outer leg of the C-clamp may be parallel with the" channel I, and oneclamp maybe attached "toofie structural member and another C-clamp to.an adjacent structural member, while the channel I extends transverselyof two or more structural beams, such as S.

thee-clamps, allowing room between the flange ,F and thesupportingchannel for such purpose.

Carrying out thesame principle of convenience of securing the supportingchannels by utilizing some ottheelongated openings therein and spacingthe channels from the surface of the fixed support, Iillustratedin Fig.5 an arrangement inw' h'ichbolts 5llleiitend into, a wall W, eachpassing through spacing collars 52 and through an opening 5 in theweb lof the supportingmember. ThesibbltsQ iO have suitable angular heads 54tightened against-the outer: side of the webl.

Inthe structure of Fig. 5, as before described, alarge lJ -b01t.,30.may,thus support a large size conduit '32, .while smaller ones, such asthe size indicated ,at 20, may'support its corresponding sizecondu'it22.

' The present invention. lends itself to the cheap andeflicientproduction of conduit supports which may be secured flanges, wall beams,and the like, or to the wa'll'it'self, and which .permits the convenientand accurate alignment of U-bolt members for carrying and supportingvarious sizs'o'f conduits.

Having thus described m invention, what I claim is:

1. The combination with a plurality of conduits of different sizes, ofsupporting means therefore comprising a channel member having a web andparallel side flanges, and having aligned elongated openings of uniformsize in the web, a plurality of U-bolts of various sizes each adapted toembrace a corresponding size of conduit, means for securing the channelmember to a structural support and spaced outwardly therefrom, nuts forthe U-bolts, said spacing permitting placing the nuts and tighteningthem in position on the U-bolts and said elongated openings being ofsuch length "and separated such distances that the smallest U bolt mayembrace any two adjacent openings, and the largest U-bolt may enter theouter portions of alternate openings.

2., A conduit hanger comprising the combination of a plurality ofU-bolts of difierent size for embracing corresponding sizes of conduits,each U-bolt having each end threaded and having clamping nuts therefor,a supporting member the nuts for the U-bolts.

3. The structure described in claim 2 in which .said means comprisesC-clamps adapted to embrace thefiange of a fixed structural beam member,and each having an outer reach portion so shaped asto space'thesupporting member having the elongated openings from said flange, and

means for securing said supporting member to the outer reaches of theC-clamps.

EARL B. ATKINSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in thefileofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,354,920 Seiler Oct. 5, 19202,375,513 Bach May 8,1945 2,384,158 Carpenter Sept. 4, 1945

